WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Dionysus
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ I Picked Up the Protagonist’s Heroine ◈
Chapter 4: This Is About My Friend, Not Me
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I was flustered by Ester’s strange behavior, but I began with what I had prepared.
“I intend to support your school life however I can. Is there anything troubling you?”
“There is... one thing. But I suppose it can’t be helped. It is a matter of the heart....”
A matter of the heart?
Did she not get along with the other students?
She would certainly receive plenty of jealousy because of her appearance.
Was she being bullied?
“What exactly is the problem?”
“No, it is fine....”
Lowering her voice, she glanced at a box neatly placed beside the sofa.
It did not seem intentional, but rather an unconscious movement.
It was carefully wrapped in cloth, like a lunchbox.
“What is that?”
“...A sense of loss.”
What did that mean?
What on earth was inside?
“Well, it is not about me. It is about a friend....”
As I stared at her, she cautiously began to speak.
“My friend has a man she, she, she likes.”
Ester’s face filled with shyness.
Right....
That was obviously about her....
There was no reason for her face to turn red over a friend’s love life.
It was one hundred percent her own story.
It was the same as saying, Please listen carefully, because this is about me.
A man she liked.
Needless to say, it was Laward.
Ester was a character who had no interest in any man other than Laward.
Though she acted as though she had no personal feelings, every little thing Laward did broke and revived her heart over and over.
“No matter what my friend tries, he only dislikes her.... This time, she even made him a lunchbox herself to win his heart.... But it seems even that failed. It has been weighing on me. I mean, my friend is suffering, so I am suffering too....”
Properly translating the Ester-speak she was circling around gave me one answer.
Laward disliked Ester.
I wanted to leap to my feet and cheer, but I forced myself to remain expressionless.
Now I understood why Ester had changed.
The romance was already over.
She had lost cleanly to Laward, who had become a devout believer.
She had probably reached the point where not even the slightest hope remained.
That was why she gave off the air of a defeated soldier.
I felt sorry for Ester, but this was the only path to the future.
It could not be helped if I wanted to prevent the apocalypse.
You two could not end up together.
What reaction should I show her, when I was the one who had manipulated all this from behind the scenes?
“I do not know your friend, but...”
Pretending I knew nothing and offering a few suitable words of agreement was probably best.
“A lunchbox takes more effort than one might expect. You have to consider how the recipient will react as well, so there must have been countless things to worry about. She must have prepared it from the crack of dawn. That man has let a good match slip away.”
After I said that, Ester lowered her flushed face.
“You are... the first person to say something like that.”
“Hmm?”
“About my friend’s... lunchbox.”
Was she really going to keep up this friend act?
More importantly, had she not ruined the pretense of being a third party the moment she said she had never heard that before?
“It had never happened before.... Recently, my friend has only been hurt. Perhaps she had grown weak without realizing it.”
Ester’s eyes trembled.
I could tell she was tightening her throat, desperately trying to keep moisture out of her voice.
“Even after striking ten times, there are... trees that will not fall.”
Well....
People were not trees....
“There was no one to comfort her. There were only more people watching her get rejected. I heard that... they even started gambling over whether she would succeed....”
They went that far?
Was she really being bullied...?
“Thank you, Sponsor. I will make sure to tell my friend. She will probably... be happy.”
Ester raised her head and smiled softly.
“...I see.”
I nearly fell for that smile.
Her radiant face almost made me forget what I had wanted to ask Ester.
Get a grip.
Her relationship with Laward mattered, but there was something else I needed to address.
Ester’s ability.
The hidden ending was not one the protagonist could achieve alone.
When I was a player, I had certainly strengthened both the protagonist and all the heroines.
Ester’s abilities needed to be strengthened as well.
No, in Ester’s case, perhaps it was more of a change.
“Ester.”
I opened her school record.
Specifically, the section marked Special Skills and Aptitude.
“How is your mana control?”
The moment I mentioned the mana control written in her record, her expression froze.
“It is... going well.”
She did not look as though it was going well at all.
“You may speak honestly. I have no intention of withdrawing my support simply because you have not produced results yet.”
“There has not been progress yet, but... I can do it!”
Ester readily admitted it.
She confidently said she could do it.
For a moment, I saw a glimpse of the Ester I knew.
The heroines’ grades were currently at rock bottom, but every one of them possessed abilities comparable to the protagonist’s.
They had the potential to prevent the apocalypse.
However, it would not be enough for only one or two of them to awaken.
The conditions for the hidden ending were that the protagonist and all five heroines reach the highest level, and that every heroine’s affection for Laward fall to the lowest possible point.
Both conditions had to be met.
Ester’s trait was mana itself.
Her mana was incomparably vast.
It was wide and deep like an ocean that no vessel could contain.
The game had firmly established it as the greatest in the world.
However, because she possessed too much mana, Ester could not control it.
The magic she cast was either too small or too large.
There was no middle ground.
“If you had done your best in the entrance examination, you might have taken first place. But you must have worried about those around you being hurt, so you held back. Rather than fail to control your power and harm others, you chose to come in last.”
During the entrance examination that measured combat ability, Ester had chosen the too-small option.
If she had unleashed her full power, I did not know whether her score would have exceeded Laward’s.
Still, Laward taking first place had been enough to capture Ester’s interest.
She became curious about what kind of training Laward had undergone to become the top student.
She wanted to know more about him.
Realizing that he was more diligent than others his age, that his hands were large and his back broad, came afterward.
Before she knew it, she had fallen in love with him.
“Before I become a second-year... I will definitely succeed....”
Ester spoke more quietly.
She was certainly a talent if she succeeded at mana control, and a human disaster if she failed.
A human disaster.
Water and fire.
When she lost control, she caused a calamity like a flood and wildfire combined.
A sea of flames.
But that was when she used magic with the attribute of destruction.
What if she used magic with the opposite attribute, one that brought benefit?
“You do not need to control it.”
“Pardon?”
“By my standards, you are already perfect.”
A person’s worth changed according to their environment.
“Mana control is essential. I only endanger the people around me. Even if I cast a spell to create a small flame, it becomes a great fire. Even before, because of me....”
I knew how to fix Ester’s weakness.
Partly because I had been a player, but more than that, because I had been the commander of the Paladin Order.
“Healing magic.”
I knew the answer.
“Healing magic has no side effects, no matter how much mana you have.”
“...Healing magic?”
“The greater it is, the more plentiful it is, the better. You have probably never considered divine magic. You likely thought that to make a name for yourself as a mage, you needed to become a powerful weapon or achieve an innovation.”
“...Yes.”
“Life is more precious than power or knowledge.”
I remembered the former commander who had died before my eyes because healing magic was absent, the person who had simply left me with the Paladin Order.
I remembered my brothers screaming in terrible pain as their blood poured out, measuring the end of their lives.
If Ester had learned healing magic.
If someone like her had been by our side.
Things would have been different.
“The effect of healing magic is determined by the caster’s mana. With your power, you could save someone whose limbs had been torn apart.”
Ester’s eyes suddenly widened.
“I do not need to control it....”
She slowly repeated my words.
“You said that if you create a small flame, it becomes a great fire.”
“Ah, yes.”
“Then even one F-rank healing spell could save countless lives. A spell that can do no more than restore a small scrape could still make you a savior.”
In the hidden ending, Ester gave up on controlling her mana.
Instead, she barely managed to learn healing magic and played an active role.
Only when the final moment arrived did she find magic that suited her.
From now on, I intended to guide Ester toward learning healing magic.
Rather than spend her time training mana control, I would make her a healing magic specialist right away.
If I moved the timing forward, Ester could become even stronger than she was in the hidden ending.
And...
“As an aside.”
There was one more reason it had to be healing magic.
“When used on the undead, healing magic becomes attack magic.”
According to the game’s setting, divine healing magic dealt damage to the undead, but I did not need to go that far.
I had confirmed it myself in my previous life.
With Ester’s immense mana reserves, her upper limit would rise even higher.
“Healing magic restores living creatures and destroys the undead.”
And if that healing magic were an area-of-effect skill?
It could unleash more firepower than most attack magic.
“Undead? There are none of those anymore.”
Well, that was the natural reaction for now.
It could not be helped.
I had said everything I needed to say.
It was about time to meet the next heroine.
“Then I will see you next time.”
“Ah, yes! Thank you so much for selecting me for the scholarship. And thank you for your kind words.”
Perhaps worried that the conversation had gone on too long, Ester quickly stood.
She bowed deeply, then hurried toward the back door.
“Ester.”
“Yes?”
“You left this behind.”
I pointed at the lunchbox sitting alone on the sofa.
“Your sense of loss.”
“Ah, ah...! I did!”
Startled, Ester returned and hugged the lunchbox to her chest.
“I know it has quite a story behind it, but if you are going to throw it away anyway, may I eat it? I happen to be hungry.”
“What? It belongs to my friend, so I need to ask permission....”
“May I eat it?”
“It will be cold by now! You must normally eat expensive, fine food at home, and something I made....”
“I do not mind.”
“Ah... all right....”
Ester placed the lunchbox on the table and sat back down on the sofa.
Click.
I slowly opened the lunchbox.
It was full of Western food, which took some of the charm out of seeing it in such a familiar lunchbox, but it was still a healthy meal.
Eggplant lightly grilled in olive oil, a salad with tomatoes, chicken breast torn into bite-sized strips, sautéed spinach, and perfectly cooked salmon steak.
A so-called five-dish meal.
For some reason, the sound of five dishes made me think of a harem route....
More importantly, I was eating food that should have gone to that infuriating protagonist.
It had cooled a little, but I did not care.
Ah.
A victor’s feast.
Chomp.
Protein first.
When I bit into the salmon steak, the fish flaked apart pleasantly, releasing its moist juices.
“How... is it?”
Ester, who supposedly had no reason to care because her friend had made it, asked me.
“Hmm? It is delicious. I would never have thought a student made it.”
“That is a relief...!”
Ester’s expression relaxed, and she smiled brightly.
A relief...?
It was not Laward saying it was delicious.
I had only stolen the protagonist’s meal.
“Please try the other things as well.”
“I was planning to, but... how long will you keep watching?”
“What? Ah... yes, you are right. Forgive me.”
“You should go now. I will return the empty container next time.”
Ester hesitated briefly at those words, then stood with a smile lingering on her lips.
“Yes, I will see you again.”
* * *
I continued meeting the heroines.
The first was Ester, a first-year in the Magic Department.
Then came...
“It is Rebecca!”
The moment Rebecca burst through the door, she made V signs with both hands.
As she struck a pose, her neatly cut blonde bob swayed as though showing off.
Flashy.
That was the most fitting word, as I realized the instant I saw her.
A necklace, earrings, and all kinds of accessories adorned her further.
She looked as though a sparkling sound effect should follow her every movement.
Yet she did not seem excessive at all, perhaps because her face shone brighter than her jewelry.
Since her official setting stated that her hairstyle changed every day, it was obvious she cared about her appearance.
Her mysterious green eyes and blade-sharp bob.
The cat-and-fox-like shape of her eyes gave her a cold impression, but her lively, warm tone broke through that aloof exterior.
The two hairpins near her bangs probably played a decisive role as well.
“I am Rebecca, a second-year in the Magic Department! I walk the path of the sword with my sights set on becoming a Sword Saint!”
...That one line of introduction was far too contradictory.
How could the Magic Department and Sword Saint appear in the same sentence?
The feeling that things did not add up did not only come from her cheerful attitude contradicting her cool appearance.
Come to think of it, there was one part of Rebecca that she did not decorate.
Her hands.
No rings, no nail ornaments.
Walking the path of the sword with becoming a Sword Saint in mind, was it?
She said it as though she were dating with marriage in mind.
More importantly, she sincerely did not see what was wrong with that.
My conversation with her passed in a blur.
Then came...
“...I am Lucia.”
As Lucia slightly lowered her head, her black hair swayed.
Dark circles lay heavily beneath her sky-blue eyes.
Her complexion looked so tired that she seemed as though she might collapse from a touch.
She was small, but her figure drew the eye.
An unreal silhouette.
If there truly were a goddess, she must have created such a body while thinking, It may be a bit unfair, but surely the world can have at least one body like this.
“Lucia is a third-year in the Swordsmanship Department.”
What sort of way of speaking was that?
Ah.
Lucia had closed her eyes before I knew it.
She had been dozing ever since our conversation began.
“I apologize. I do night work, so I get sleepy during the day.”
...What?
Lucia glanced at my reaction, then smiled faintly.
The night work she meant was work with an assassin unit from a guild.
I knew her background because I had played the game, but if I had not, I would have looked genuinely flustered.
Still, I had not hidden it perfectly, and Lucia watched me as though she found me amusing.
Was this what made third-years different?
Despite her stiff way of speaking, she had a sly side to her.
“Lucia, I want you to focus on your studies. That is why I am giving you a scholarship.”
“I am truly grateful for the scholarship.”
Lucia lowered her head deeply once more.
“But Lucia has no intention of quitting her job.”
“Not that you cannot quit?”
“No.”
Lucia openly drew a line.
Well, I would let that point pass for now.
It was time to focus on Ester, and there was no need to rush.
“I will have to handle them one at a time anyway.”
“...Handle?”
“I was only talking to myself.”
That was how I met three heroines in succession.
Amelia, who did not even have time to show her face, and Veronica, who had received the severe punishment of a one-year suspension, would have to wait for another opportunity.
The five heroines.
Unbelievably, they would all come to love one man.
* * *
After school.
The moment Ester returned to her dormitory, she threw herself facedown on her bed.
She rolled left, then right.
She tossed and turned as she remembered what had happened today.
Recently, she had cried every day.
She kept thinking of herself, always trying to win Laward’s heart, and Laward, always responding coldly. She lamented the gap between their feelings, which would never close.
The more she piled up her unrequited feelings for Laward, the wider the gap became.
A scale tilted to one side.
There was no balance.
But today, another face lingered in her mind.
Daywin Hasgard.
A sponsor from a distinguished count’s house.
He was a strange person.
His casual words and actions did not suit the child of a noble house.
He had accepted without complaint a lunchbox cooked by a novice that had even gone cold.
And then...
“She must have prepared it from the crack of dawn. That man has let a good match slip away.”
“You do not need to control it. You are already perfect.”
“May I eat it?”
Those words came to her in sudden waves, washing over her heart before passing on.
She had never heard such words before.
It was laughable and pathetic to be comforted and reassured by someone she had only just met, but she could not deny that his words had felt warm.
“I will return the empty container next time.”
More than any of his other words, those meaningless words remained in her mind.
There would be a next time.
When she rolled over, the familiar dormitory door came into view.
The cosmetics on her roommate’s desk were in their usual place.
It was an ordinary day.
For some reason, even though today was certainly the day Laward had rejected the lunchbox she had put her heart into...
“This is strange.”
For some reason, she did not cry today.
* * *
[Ending (1) Locked]
[I-It's not like I like you or anything, okay?]
“Uh...?”
While I was drying myself after a bath, a message suddenly appeared saying that an ending had been locked.
Without any warning, just like that.
Ending number one.
One of Ester’s five endings.
Locked.
“What is this...?”
I did not do anything...?
Footnotes:
The Korean terms for “talent” and “human disaster” are homophones distinguished by their written characters. The “five-dish meal” wording includes a word that can also mean “concubine,” prompting the harem-route aside.
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